The Stage

Irish Arts Council opens public debate on ‘crucial role’ of the arts

Published Friday 25 May 2007 at 11:05 by Michael Quinn

The Irish Arts Council has launched a public debate on the value of the arts as the opening salvo in its bid for an increase in annual funding from central government to €100 million (£68 million) in 2008.

The move comes as Ireland awaits the result of a general election. If successful, the increase would represent a significant uplift in arts funding from the country’s current historically high level of just under €80 million.

In the first of a series of events, the council has published three pamphlets written by the Irish Examiner’s arts editor Ian Kilroy, John Waters, columnist with The Irish Times, and Sunday Times news editor, John Burns.

They are intended, the council says, “to encourage consideration of the many ways in which the arts influence day to day life”, and to “provoke discussion and focus attention on the crucial role the arts can and do play in our lives… and as part of our wider society”.

At the launch of Arts Debate 2007, council chair Olive Braiden acknowledged Ireland’s arts companies and workers “have done reasonably well” in recent years, but insisted that “for the arts to reach the breakthrough they so richly deserve, we are pushing for funding of €100 million”, saying the sum “would stabilise the arts sector in Ireland for the first time in its life”.